Synergistic Collapse -- What Happens Without A Plan

Imagine a tripod that's got one wooden leg, one iron leg and one stone leg. On top of the tripod rests our chances for survival. The wooden leg is rotting, the iron leg is about rusted through, and the stone leg has been mostly worn away by wind & waves.

Which one will crumble first? It's hard to say, and it doesn't really matter, since each leg depends on the other two. When one goes, they all go. That's how I think of "synergistic collapse."

The three legs upon which our survival depends are the Earth's environment, human economics and the integrated social structures human, plant and animal, that share this planet. Currently, all three legs are degenerating to the point of imminent, synergistic collapse.

Global warming and global broiling threaten collapse of the Natural Order, mankind's economy is in the final stages of imbalance, as evidenced by the degree to which the black markets have infected the global markets and compromised the integrity of political leadership and other social structures.(1)

Albert Einstein once predicted that if bees were to become extinct mankind could only survive for four years. Others have estimated it would take seven years. How long will our social structures last if the environment collapses? How long will our economy stay solvent once the toxicity of petrochemicals is recognized as not worth it? It may not matter if the bees die first.

What will happen once 'marijuana' prohibition is finally superseded by widespread realization of the true value of the Cannabis plant? My vision of the first thing that ought to happen, is identification of the people who have been promoting this idea the longest, to be celebrated as forward thinkers, capable of leadership. The politicians who continue to support prohibition will be seen as "drug war dinosaurs" who did not have the political courage or vision to see the truth about Cannabis, nor the destructive nature of prohibition itself.

It is critical to have a conversation about the promise of Cannabis and the urgency of ending the prohibition of all drugs. It is time to do what needs to be done in spite of the lack of political will.



1. "Organised crime: the $2 trillion threat to the world's security"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2167133,00.html

2. "Welsh urged to become beekeepers"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/6612513.stm